Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos to the Maximos Mansion in Athens on Monday to discuss the passing of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania and various issues of concern to the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece.

The late Archbishop Anastasios, who reposed over the weekend after a long hospital stay, was regarded as a revered Primate of the Orthodox Church, with the Prime Minister noting, “He was an outstanding hierarch who accomplished extraordinary work in Albania, rebuilding a devastated church.”

Mitsotakis confirmed during his meeting with Ieronymos that he would attend the funeral of the late Archbishop in Tirana on Thursday to pay tribute to his “remarkable contributions”, as he said.

The meeting on Tuesday also addressed broader “Church-related issues,” including proposals for collaboration on investments between the Greek state and the Church of Greece, as well as concerns about the Christian communities in war-torn Syria, of which the Greek Orthodox community is the most sizable.

Regarding potential cooperation on investments, one focus is on real estate, as the Church of Greece and individual Metropolises possess certain prime tracts of land, including coastal lots, many of which have been bequeathed to the Church over the years. Other buildings have often been leased to the state by the Church of Greece, as was the case of the former education ministry, on Mitropoleos Street in downtown Athens, which is today a five-star hotel.